Questions from a New Hire
 

I apologize if this posts again, but the 1st one didnt seem to post.

I was with Pinnacle about 10 years ago. I recently interviewed with Endeavor and was offered a class date in October. Before applying to Endeavor, I talked with the pilot recruiters whom all said that my prior year of service with Pinnacle will be recognized with Endeavor for pay, vacation, and company longevity, but obviously not for bidding. During my interview, I asked the FO that was giving the presentation too and he agreed. THen during the interview, I asked the Captain and the HR rep and they both agreed. Wonderful!

Then I got the CJO and was told that I would be at year 1 FO pay and I would receive a $23000 retention bonus because of my prior year instead of the $20000 for "new-hires" and I would also receive a $7000 training completion bonus versus the the $10000 to "new-hires". So he was using my year of service there but then when it came to the pay, he said I would start off at the 1st step of the FO pay. His exact words from the CJO are:"Thank you for your response. The LOA-58 agreement pertains to your past employment with our company. Your adjusted hire date will reflect your longevity accrued from your previous employment. With your length of employment previously with Pinnacle, it doesn’t start you off at a higher pay level originally, but time wise, puts you closer to the next step when compared to a new FO (that hasn’t previously worked with the company). The LOA-58 agreement contains a $7,000 training completion bonus and a $23,000 retention payment year 1 which equals $30,000. For a new FO, they receive a $10,000 training completion bonus and a $20,000 retention payment year 1 which equals $30,000."

So I looked up LOA 58 and the way that I read paragraph C "Longevity Restoration and Credit for Rehired Pilots" is that I would start at the 2nd step of pay. The only thing that I should not be getting back is the 401(k) because my separation was more than 5 years ago. Nothing in LOA 58 pertains to training bonus so I looked up LOA 71 and see paragraph K and L. Nothing there mentions the 7000 for rehired FO's. So it seems that he is using my prior year for everything but the pay scale.
Did I miss something here? Can someone explain this to me with substantiation?

Thanks!

my understanding is you should have any longevity accrued added to your total on day one and be paid accordingly. I think there was some shadiness in how that (or maybe it was seniority) accrued for Pinnacle pilots before the merger and that may be the issue. The best thing to do is email one of the ALPA lawyers your details and see what they say.

It was longevity. Started day of Checkride, not first day of class.

If thats the case then that makes sense. Is there any written documentation of this?

I was in the same boat. 2005 Mesaba, resigned with 9E in 2014. Returned last year (out 2.5 years.) I had the same issues/questions with the bonuses. In short, you still get the $30 K, but it's just in a different form ($23k + $7k) versus a new hire which is $10k training completion plus $20k retention.

How long were you on property before? Your new pay rate will be based upon longevity as it relates to how long you were here before you resigned (hourly rate, 401k match, vacation, etc). I upgraded very quickly and am now sitting good with pay (10 yr 900 capt) but at the bottom for bidding. The downside of returning is QOL...basically a street captain for 2 yrs. Still thankful for being back though! It's a totally different place now.

Already causing problems and he's not on the line yet. Get him outta here. Haha jfk. Good luck.

Glad to hear its different now. I didnt mind it befire but my kids were very young. I get the 30k part of it, but the salary part is confusing me. Im just trying to understand it. I was a 9E FO for 1 year and a couple days. So I am curious why I wouldnt start at year 2 pay. HR is using my year to give me the 23k versus the 20k, but not to start me at the year 2 pay. Just looking for clarification. ....and I am happy to be back...

Just trying to understand it. Sometimes pilots can explain it better than HR...lol

Did you take any FMLA or any other leave? That can count against longevity too.

But yes if you were Pinnacle you get screwed out of approx 2 months longevity by them using checkride vs 1st day of class as the start of longevity.

I thought they fixed that with the combined list?